While this really is a loaded question there are some decent answers, that all have an “it depends” clause attached to them. Think of this as asking: “how much does a car cost?”. Without any specifics to go along with the question, it is hard to provide an answer that means very much; are you buying a ’76 Buick from your uncle Earl (at which point Earl, that rascal, will tell you that they didn’t make a good Buick after 1976), or a new Mercedes G wagon? We look to the annual Cost vs. Value report, (© 2020 Hanley Wood Media Inc. Complete data from the Remodeling 2020 Cost vs. Value Report can be downloaded free at www.costvsvalue.com ) to provide some guidance to the range of prices for these types of projects, and it generally matches the actual construction costs we see fairly well.
Essentially the answer to this question comes down to the scope of work for the project we are looking at. Let’s look at a bathroom remodel for example and assume that we are not moving walls or the locations of plumbing fixtures, the only differences then are the finishes and fixtures that are being used. Bathroom vanity cabinets can range from a couple hundred dollars to well into the thousands of dollars, same with bathtubs or showers and their surrounds: Is it a cast iron tub with a tile surround with built in soap niches, or is it a multipiece acrylic surround from the home center? Is it a traditional tile shower pan and hand made tile surround with soap niches and a built-in bench, or the multipiece acrylic surround again? Heated tile floor, or sheet vinyl? Lighted mirror with a medicine cabinet or a framed mirror hung on the wall? The list goes on and the examples are many, but all go on to illustrate that the design choices and finishes that are selected in this example are what drives the cost of the project. You can do a bathroom remodel for as little as $5,000.00, but you could also spend $45,000.00 in the exact same room, they won’t look anything alike, but both are a bathroom remodel.
Our team includes a mix of both direct employees and subcontractors, and we regularly have as many as thirty to forty people come through a job. Direct employees do all facets of management work both in the office and in the field as well as the bulk of the carpentry whereas the subcontractors we employ are tradespeople and craftspeople, think of them as the more specialized skill sets, or those that require a specific license, such as electricians, plumbers, and gas pipers (believe me, no one wants an unlicensed cut rate gas piper in their home). The team that will be in your home will always start out with a Lead carpenter and a helper, both employees, other carpenters and helpers, employees again, will come and go as needed to facilitate the production schedule for your project, and the subtrades and subcontractors, who we work with all the time, are brought in as needed.
The time it takes to complete your remodel will vary widely based on the actual scope of work, just as the cost varies according to the scope of work. We build a production schedule for each job that matches the scope of work for that job and details exactly what happens and when, so while the time to complete each job is different, you will know before we start how long your job will take. That having been said, though, here are some guidelines based on our experience. Kitchen remodels tend to run from six to eight weeks for a midrange minor or major remodel. Bathroom remodels tend to run from four to six weeks for a midrange project. Additions and whole house remodels seem to start in the five month range and go up from there, although we have completed some whole house remodels in three months. For more detail on what these sorts of projects look like from a scope of work and cost standpoint, check out the Cost vs. Value report, (© 2020 Hanley Wood Media Inc. Complete data from the Remodeling 2020 Cost vs. Value Report can be downloaded free at www.costvsvalue.com ) for scope of work descriptions and associated costs for our area. The one thing you can do to ensure your project runs smoothly and on schedule is plan well, thoughtfully and thoroughly, and make decisions in a timely and decisive manner. See our process page for more on this.
TBH Sterling Inc. is a general contractor engaged in remodeling in the greater Seattle area. We do a lot of kitchen and bath remodels as well as whole house remodels, additions and basement remodels. We do not take on handy man work, small repair work, build fences or tool sheds.
Yes, however, we strongly recommend that you work with a public adjuster in order to get enough money from the insurance company to be able to put your home back together again. They will work with your insurance company to get a proper settlement, at which point we run an insurance job through our process just like any other job, with some added complications like, having to replace the framing in the part of the house that caught fire and smoke sealing the rest of the house so that the smell doesn’t come back.
We work in all areas of the following cities: Seattle, Bellevue, Clyde Hill, Medina, Beaux Arts Village, Mercer Island, Kirkland, Redmond, Shoreline, Edmonds, Lake Forest Park, Kenmore, Mountlake Terrace, Burien, Normandy Park. Some areas of these cities: Sammamish, Issaquah, Mukilteo, Everett, Renton, DesMoines. I know there are some smaller municipalities that are within these areas that we catch as well so if you don’t see your area, but are close, give us a call, let’s have a chat.
If you have an idea, we would love to hear about it.
